Rutgers beats Army 27-10

Oct 24, 2009 - 5:04 AM
By JOHN KEKIS
AP Sports Writer

WEST POINT, N.Y.(AP) -- When the game was on the line, the Rutgers
defense stepped up.

Joe Martinek scored twice on short runs, linebacker Steve
Beauharnais scored off his own blocked punt, and the Scarlet
Knights forced fumbles on consecutive series late in the third
quarter to break Army's momentum en route to a 27-10 victory on
Friday night at rainswept Michie Stadium.

"I felt we were playing good football when we blocked the punt
for a touchdown," Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. "The first
drive is always difficult against an option team. When you go
against a team that runs this (offense), they know the
adjustments, then it's punch-counterpunch. I think the takeaways
were critical."

It was the sixth straight victory for Rutgers (5-2) over Army
(3-5) and evened the series at 18-all. The Black Knights have
lost 12 straight games against Big East teams since beating
Rutgers 37-35 in 1997.

Thanks to a stout front line that afforded plenty of protection
from Army's swarming defense, freshman quarterback Tom Savage
guided Rutgers to a 17-3 halftime lead with some big plays: a
32-yard completion in the first quarter to Mark Harrison that
set up Martinek's 4-yard run, and a 48-yard pass to Tim Brown
that was followed by San San Te's 27-yard field goal.

But when Rutgers faked a punt and failed on fourth-and-12 at the
Army 40 on the first series of the third quarter, the Black
Knights came alive.

Patrick Mealy took a pitch right for 22 yards and Rutgers
defensive tackle Scott Vallone, who was shaken up briefly
moments earlier, jumped offside twice in a row to give Army
another first down. Lonnie Liggins then scored up the middle to
make it 17-10, and the momentum was starting to swing.

"It wasn't a matter of sticking with them. We believed we could
win," Army defensive tackle Mike Gann said. "It just came down
to missed tackles and lost fumbles."

Rutgers entered the game ranked second in the nation with a
plus-2 turnover margin and its stellar defense came alive when
it mattered most.

After Te's 41-yard field goal boosted Rutgers' lead to 20-10
with 6:35 left in the third, Army, which crossed midfield only
once in the first half, drove to the Rutgers 34 and seemed
poised for another score. But George Johnson forced a fumble by
Kingsley Ehie and Alex Silvestro recovered for the Scarlet
Knights.

"We're gaining on it, but we can't take a step forward and two
steps back. It won't work," Army coach Rich Ellerson said. "It's
just us. There's nothing magical about it. The negative plays
just killed us."

Army forced a three-and-out, but Brad Gallik of the Cadets
fumbled and Khaseem Greene recovered for the Scarlet Knights at
the Army 37. Savage completed a 28-yard pass to tight end Shamar
Graves on the first play of the fourth quarter, setting up
Martinek's 6-yard TD run.

Savage finished 10 of 20 for 164 yards to become just the second
freshman quarterback in Rutgers history to win a road game. Ryan
Cubit won his first road game at Buffalo in 2001 in his first
career start.

"I know I missed a lot of open guys. I feel like I took a step
today getting a `W' in that first away game," Savage said. "When
I was walking out there, I kind of got the chills a little bit.
It just didn't feel real to me."

Army scored first for the seventh time this season. Trent
Steelman hit Malcolm Brown for 21 yards and Ehie had a 26-yard
run up the middle on a third-and-9 play to set up Alex Carlton's
41-yard field goal.

The Scarlet Knights, ranked 11th nationally in rushing defense,
allowing just 91.5 yards per game, gave up 197 on the ground to
Army's triple option. But the Black Knights only converted 1 of
11 third downs, punted seven times, and scored only one
offensive touchdown for the fifth straight game.

"We're getting there," Steelman said. "We just have to finish.
We're moving the ball. It's just a matter of finishing. It's
just one block here or there."

Martinek had 139 yards rushing and Brown had four catches for
101 yards to pace Rutgers.